CVE-2021-41720: Withdrawn Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability

LOW
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-8p5q-j9m2-g8wr
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-77
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-41720 is a LOW (CVSS 9.8) arbitrary code execution vulnerability (CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')) affecting Withdrawn libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves arbitrary code execution in lodash. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2021-41720 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-41720
GHSA Identifier GHSA-8p5q-j9m2-g8wr
Severity LOW
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')
Affected Product Withdrawn
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2021-41720

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Withdrawn dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

lodash fixed: Latest secure release 
npm install lodash@Latest secure release
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

npm ls lodash

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2021-41720, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls lodash

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Withdrawn in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls lodash command inspects dependencies declared in your package.json and lockfile; it does not perform automated runtime dynamic scanning.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of a command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended command when it is sent to a downstream component. In Withdrawn, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

# Withdrawn GitHub has chosen to publish this CVE as a withdrawn advisory due to it not being a security issue. See [this issue](https://github.com/lodash/lodash/issues/5261) for more details. # CVE description "** DISPUTED ** A command injection vulnerability in Lodash 4.17.21 allows attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution via the template function. This is a different parameter, method, and version than CVE-2021-23337. NOTE: the vendor's position is that it's the developer's responsibility to ensure that a template does not evaluate code that originates from untrusted input.

CVE-2021-41720 Affected Withdrawn Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
lodash
npm/lodash
npm
≤ 4.17.21

References

NVD — CVE-2021-41720 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-23337
NVD — CVE-2021-41720 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-41720
Withdrawn Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/lodash/lodash/issues/5261
Withdrawn Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/lodash/lodash
web.archive.org/web/20211004200531/... WEB
https://web.archive.org/web/20211004200531/https:/github.com/lodash/lodash/issues/5261

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-41720?
CVE-2021-41720 is a security vulnerability in Withdrawn involving Arbitrary code execution in lodash under CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection').
Which Withdrawn versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: lodash.
What version fixes CVE-2021-41720?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is lodash affected?
Yes, lodash is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-41720?
CVE-2021-41720 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (LOW) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-41720?
CVE-2021-41720 is classified under CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection') (The product constructs all or part of a command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended command when it is sent to a downstream component.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2021-41720?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls lodash'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-8p5q-j9m2-g8wr",
  "modified" : "2021-12-02T00:01:18Z",
  "published" : "2021-12-03T20:37:32Z",
  "withdrawn" : "2021-10-01T22:04:28Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-41720" ],
  "summary" : "Withdrawn: Arbitrary code execution in lodash",
  "details" : "# Withdrawn\n\nGitHub has chosen to publish this CVE as a withdrawn advisory due to it not being a security issue. See [this issue](https://github.com/lodash/lodash/issues/5261) for more details.\n\n# CVE description\n\n\"** DISPUTED ** A command injection vulnerability in Lodash 4.17.21 allows attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution via the template function. This is a different parameter, method, and version than CVE-2021-23337. NOTE: the vendor's position is that it's the developer's responsibility to ensure that a template does not evaluate code that originates from untrusted input.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "lodash"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "4.17.21"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-23337"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-41720"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/lodash/lodash/issues/5261"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/lodash/lodash"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20211004200531/https:/github.com/lodash/lodash/issues/5261"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-77" ],
    "severity" : "LOW",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-09-30T14:15:00Z"
  }
}